Despite its widespread use, relatively few cannabis users present to treatment, with only 31,980 episodes of care provided for primary cannabis use problems in 2006-07 (AIHW, 2008). Study on the barriers to cannabis treatment has highlighted the importance of providing additional outpatient treatments that are specific to cannabis (Treloar et al., 2007). Partly based on the success that telephone counselling has shown for people with tobacco related problems (see Stead et al 2008 Cochrane Review) and this desire for alternative treatments, the Cannabis Information and Helpline (CIH) was launched by Lifeline Australia in collaboration with the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre. However, to date no Australian data exists on the satisfaction of callers to this service or any other telephone service with a specific focus on a particular illicit drug.
This study was designed to evaluate the Cannabis Information and Helpline (CIH). The study aimed to establish who calls the CIH, what they expect from the service, how satisfied they are with the call, and how the call was helpful to them. In addition, we investigated trends in counselling style as well as characteristics of callers and associations with call outcomes.
This study had two phases. First, CIH callers (N = 200) were asked to give consent to participate in a 15 minute phone interview. The interview assessed callers’ satisfaction with the service and the counsellor that answered the phone, various aspects of the call, such as how easy it was for them to reach a counsellor, what happened during the call, and how the call was helpful to them. Secondly, the data routinely collected by CIH was analysed to identify patterns and if certain types of callers and counsellor behaviours are associated with differential outcomes.
A 10-min telephone interview was conducted with 200 volunteers who called the service during 2009 (121 called regarding themselves and 79 called regarding another person's cannabis use). Callers were a mean of 43 years of age and typically female (59%). Callers showed high levels of satisfaction with the service: the mean CSQ-8 score was 28.2 (SD = 4.3). Participants who found the service easy to access and those who felt their needs were met reported the highest satisfaction. A linear regression analysis was conducted to identify the significant predictors of participants' satisfaction with the CIH. The ease with which the participant was able to get through to a counsellor (standardised beta = 2.37, P < 0.02) and whether the participant felt that all their needs were met (standardised beta = −4.26, P < 0.001) were the only significant predictors of total satisfaction with the call. Despite the recognition that telephone services are possibly the easiest health-care service to access, ensuring consistent availability and accessibility remains paramount although not easy.
The findings were presented to several drug and alcohol conferences and in addition, one peer reviewed paper and one chapter to a PhD thesis have been published.
Publications
Gates P, Copeland J, Norberg M, Digiusto E. Caller satisfaction with the Cannabis Information and Helpline. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 2011; 17:93-8.
Peter Gates' PhD thesis can be found at unsworks:10861 http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/52191.
Presentations
Gates, P., Norberg, M., Copeland, J. (2009) The Cannabis Information Helpline. What is it and does it work? Paper presented at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre Seminar Series, 13 August, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Sydney, Australia
Posters
Gates, P., Copeland, J., Norberg, M., Digiusto, E. (2009) Evaluation of the National Cannabis Information and Helpline, Poster presentation at the National Cannabis Information and Prevention Centre Symposium, 7-8 September, Sydney, Australia
Gates, P., Copeland, J., Norberg, M., Digiusto, E. (2009) Evaluation of the National Cannabis Information and Helpline, Poster presentation at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre Annual Symposium, 28 September, Sydney, Australia
Gates, P., Copeland, J., Norberg, M., Digiusto, E. (2009) Evaluation of the National Cannabis Information and Helpline, Poster presentation at the Annual Post Graduate Research Student Conference, 3-4 November, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
This project marks the first investigation of caller satisfaction with an illicit substance use helpline. In addition, the project included a regression analysis to determine the predictors of client satisfaction from a list of measures taken from the call content and the caller demographics. The information from this project was used to inform the development and evaluation of a unique telephone-delivered cannabis use intervention. In addition, this study provides support for the development of further telephone helplines in the field of illicit substance use.